Citizens go behind the scenes at Holland police academy

Next Monday night, 33 Holland residents will graduate from the Holland Department of Public Safety's Citizen Police Academy.

Throughout the last 11 weeks, the citizens have taken tours of the courthouse, jail holding cells, seen demonstrations from the K-9 unit and fired police firearms. Husbands and wives, high school students, friends and interested individuals have gone through the extensive course, getting to know the members of the Holland Police Department on a personal level.

"In a nutshell, it's 11 weeks of exactly what the Holland Police Department stands for (and) what we do," said Officer Adam Sokolove, who runs the academy with fellow officer Dan Keuning. "The doors lock at 5 p.m., but it gets opened up, and we bring them through our department. That's a tough thing, because cops are very close to each other. We value that, but we also want people to know that we're human beings, and that's the most important thing."

This year's class of citizens is one of the largest the department has ever had after promoting the free program on social media. Sokolove said he had to turn a few applicants away because so many people applied. For those who became part of the Citizen Police Academy, each individual went on a ride-along with a police officer for additional hands-on experience.

Citizen Police Academy participant Angela Reid said during her ride-along, she witnessed someone being arrested from drunk driving.

"I got to see the booking process and realize how much paperwork police do," Reid said. "It gave me the chance to be educated about the police forces. (It was) interesting to me seeing how supportive Holland is and wants to have a good relationship with the community and the police."

Some years, Sokolove gets parents of current Holland police officers going through the program to see what their children do on the job. This year, the wife of an incoming Holland officer participated in the academy. Throughout the 20 years of the academy, Sokolove has seen many families go through the Citizen Police Academy together. This year's academy also included a few high school students who are interested in careers in law enforcement.

"You never know what you're going to get, but the mix in general has been great," Sokolove said. "We've got people that are in their 70s all the way to teens. To see them talk week to week and see what they bring from a community standpoint has been awesome."

Each week the academy meets, citizens learn about the behind-the-scenes aspects of policing, including some of the more controversial conversations. On Monday, Nov. 13, the last meeting before the citizens graduated from the academy, Sgt. Matt Brouwer demonstrated some of the firearms training officers go through and the difficulty officers face when determining to use force.

Brouwer, a sniper on Holland's Special Enforcement Team, showed Citizen Police Academy students the variety of force escalation tools the department has, from crowd dispersal techniques to fully automatic rifles. This session has become a favorite of Sokolove's throughout the years he has taught the academy.

"Over the years, us demonstrating use of force and control tactics are beyond valuable," he said. "A night like tonight where we demonstrate why we do certain things or why we're given those choices we have to make, it goes a long way. We show them what our levels of force are and what goes into that thought process."

As police officers' decisions draw more scrutiny nationwide, Sokolove and other Holland officers try to address those issues with academy attendees.

"I started 16 years ago and in terms of how we teach the class, it's definitely changed," Sokolove said. "Cops weren't getting ambushed by sitting in their car, there wasn't such a high police brutality conversation going on. We challenge everybody in the community, when they have an issue or a strong opinion, we ask them to come to the police academy."

After the demonstration by Brouwer, academy members were able to shoot the officers' Glock 17 pistols at the department's training range.

Reid said the conversations about police force gave her a more nuanced perspective on how officers are portrayed in stories about officer-involved shootings.

"The next time all that comes up in the media again, I'm going to think about all the training and how split-decision everything is," Reid said.

The Citizen Police Academy begins each fall and is free of charge. For those interested in applying for the 2018 academy, the application will be available online at cityofholland.com/police. The department also offers a Junior Police Academy for middle school students during the summer.

Sokolove said he understands the 11-week commitment can be daunting, but tries to jam-pack as much information as he can for the attendees.

"You're taking 11 weeks every Monday night," Sokolove said. "I couldn't give that up if I was just a plain citizen, knowing what my family schedule is like. But you have no idea what it means to us from the Holland Police Department that you want to give up 11 straight weeks in the fall of coming (here)."

Reid said she's glad she took part in the academy and was impressed with the instruction offered.

"I'm going to think about all the training and how split-decision everything is the next time all that comes up in the media again," she said. "They always want what's best for the community. Get behind the scenes and get involved. Get to know the people who are keeping you safe."

—Follow this reporter on Twitter @SentinelAudra.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.